The Unmentioned

At first, I wasn't sure what context I wanted the game to have, but after some pondering I've decided to go along with an idea many others in class have chosen to use: making the player character a child. In my game, the player is a child at school who must make a series of moral decisions (saving someone from a bully, cheating on a test, etc.), with each decision (each scene) factoring into the player's options when the next decision rolls around (in the next scene), either limiting or expanding the possibilities.

In class last week, someone mentioned that I should be careful not to make the decisions simple good/evil, yes/no moral questions, and I've started to factor that advice into my game. For instance, consider this moral question, which presents the player with three choices: if the player decides to save a nerd from a bully, the nerd might offer some assistance later in the game when the player has to take a difficult test; if the player simply ignores the nerd's plight, he can avoid getting involved at all and thus avoid the risk of inciting the bully's wrath; or, the player might even actually join in the bullying and earn the bully's respect, gaining a valuable ally and earning more influence over the general population of the school.

Obviously, such a running series of events will cause the scripting of the game to become complicated, and fast, so right now I'm just experimenting with a series of only three or four choices. If time permits, and the development process continues to run smoothly, I may be able to double or even triple the number of choices or scenes before the final project is due.

Altogether, my game is not only about morality, but also about managing resources: friends, money, power, etc. The player begins the game with a few "bargaining tools" that may or may not prove helpful in the situations he or she encounters (depending on which path through the game the player takes).

I'll admit, I have a long way to go. But I'm having fun, and fortunately I've been able to merely copy and appropriately modify some of the script I used for my first interactive fiction project--possible because I pushed myself to use some complicated scripting in that game.